Carriage-apron.



No. 729,186. PATENTED MAY 26, 1903. A. B. KEYES.

CARRIAGE APRON.

APPLICATION rum) APR. 3, 1903.

no xonnL.

UNrrED STATES Patented May 26, 1 90s.

PATENT OFFICE.

CARRlAGE-APRON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,186, dated May 26,1903. pplication filed April 3, 1903. Serial No. 150,908. (No model.)

To all whom, it mcty concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERTBELCHAM KEYES, of Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Carriage-Aprons; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in carriage-aprons of that classdesigned to pro tect the occupant of the carriage from rain, snow, andsleet; and the object of the invention is to provide an apron of thischaracter with means for protecting the parts of the reins which aregrasped by the driver from the weather, so as to prevent said reinsbecoming wet and soaked during stormy weather, and thereby not onlymoistening and soiling the hands or gloves of the driver, but alsorendering the reins slippery and difficult to hold.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carriage, showingmy improved carriage-apron applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transversevertical section taken through the carriage-apron and rein-protectingflap.

As shown in the drawings, A designates the body of a carriage, B theusual top, and O the dashboard.

D designates a carriage-apron which. may be of any common or preferreddesign and is adapted to be attached at its forward end to the dashboardand to extend backwardiy from the dashboard and be attached in anysuitable manner to the top of the buggy or carriage to hold the sameover and in front of the driver to protect him from the elements. Saidapron is provided at its forward end with a pocket I), which fits overthe dashboard, whereby the forward end of the apron is detachablyconnected with the dashboard and is attached at its upper corners to thetop B in any suitable manner, permitting the same to be readily detachedtherefrom. Said apron is provided with an enlarged reinslit d, throughwhich extend the reins E.

F designates a generally horizontal supplementary flap or rein-cover,which extends from front to rear of the carriage and is attached at oneend margin thereof to the apron D, above the rein-slit d thereof, andextends forwardly therefrom and is adapted to be attached at its forwardend to the apron D at the dashboard. The flap F is made of the samematerial as the apron proper. The supplementary flap F is made somewhatwider than the rein-slit d and is made of approximately the same widthat its front end as that of the dashboard. The forward end of the flapis provided with a downwardly folded part f, which overlaps the uppermargin of the pocket D of the apron I), and said downwardly-folded partis attached to the apron by lines of stitches, as shown at f. Theforward end margin of the supplementary flap isunat'tached to the apronproper between the lines of stitches f to afford a space between thesupplementary flap and the pocket D of the apron through which the reinsE may pass, and said space is of sufficient width to permit free lateralmovement of the reins. The front end of the flap may be otherwiseattached to the apron.

It will be observed that the supplementary flap or cover F protects theparts of the reins which extend rearwardly from the dashboard, so thatthere is no possibility of the parts of the reins which are grasped bythe drivers hands becoming wet or soaked by the rain, thereby making thesame slippery or moistening or soiling the hands or gloves of thedriver.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a carriage-apronprovided with a rein-slit, of a supplementary flap or rein-coverattached at its rear end to the carriage-apron above the rein-slit andattached at its'front end to the apron a distance in front of said slipby means providing at the front end of the flap a large slit throughwhich the reins may pass.

2. The combination with a carriage-apron provided with a rein-slit, andwithmeans for attaching it to the dashboard,'of a supplemental fiap orrein-cover attached at its rear end to the carriage-apron above therein-slit and attached at its front end to said apron at the dashboardby means providing at the front end of the flap a space for the passageof the reins.

3. The combination with a carriage-apron my invention I afifix mysignature, in presprovided with a rein-slit and with a pocket ence oftwo witnesses, this 28th day of March, IO adapted to fit over thedashboard, of a sup- A. D. 1903.

plementai flap or rein-cover attached at its 1 w 5 rear end to the apronabove said rein-slit and ALBERT BELCHAM attached at its front end atlaterally-sepa- Witnesses:

rated points to said apron-pocket. WILLIAM L. HALL,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as GEORGE E. WILKINS.

